Sam Chadwick Photography

MyKeyworder.com meet Wordle

2011-09-20T20:30:00.001+08:00

The Create Tag Cloud option of MyKeyworder.com just got a little boost. There's now a new button at the top of the tag cloud results which allows you to send all of the keywords to Wordle and create any number of very cool tag clouds. Here's one for Chicken!
See more Wordles created using MyKeyworder.

Rasa-rasa Malaysia

2011-09-15T22:41:00.012+08:00

As you saw in yesterday's post, the weather for the long weekend in Malaysia was... well... completely unsuitable for outdoor photography. So what is there to do instead? EAT!

Malaysia is famous for its food, so that's what became our focus for 4 days. Here is a flash slideshow of the top 30 local dishes. All of them were absolutely delicious.

Penang Malaysia

2011-09-14T23:32:00.000+08:00

Despite the less than desirable weather - a combination of rain, extreme humidity and the smoke from Indonesian farmers burning their fields between harvests - we managed to get a few landscape shots of Penang. You can see some of the smog/mist along the horizon of the first picture which was taken from the high ground of Kek Lok Si temple looking out over Georgetown.

The rest of the trip turned in to an eating frenzy - more details in tomorrow's post.

Sylights - lighting diagrams for the iPad

2011-09-06T13:36:00.000+08:00

I ran across the Sylights iPad app completely by accident and have found it really useful for creating lighting diagrams to explain setups to others. And even better, it's free.

MyKeyworder.com passes 10,000 keyword searches

2011-08-17T08:37:00.000+08:00

What was first published to the Labs as Project ShutterChance on January 29th 2011, graduated as MyKeyworder on August 1st after 6 months of iterative enhancements and UI tweaking. On August 16th, only 16 days later, it has already executed over 10,000 keyword searches.

I would like to thank Microstock Diaries for their continued support, and my girlfriend, who still wonders why I am obsessed with keywording (although she did admit that it is very useful - but I didn't manage to get that on tape).

There are lots more potential improvements on the horizon. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them here.

MyKeyworder.com Auto-suggest goes into Beta

2011-08-16T14:42:00.002+08:00

Smoe peolpe jsut cant spell vrey well.... and thats a problem when it comes to keywording. If you tag your images with a keyword that is spelled incorrectly, it means people are not going to find it - unless of course they are equally bad at spelling.

So, the Auto-suggest is now live and in Beta. Very much like Google's auto-suggest, if you start typing a word then it will attempt to predict the remainder of the word. Great if you are not so good at spelling. However, this Auto-suggest takes it one stage further - it will analyse all of the letters in the word, not just words beginning with the letters you typed. Now sure what I mean? Well, it's best if you just try it and see for yourself.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

http://www.mykeyworder.com

Tsing Yi Peak - a very hot hike

2011-08-14T16:34:00.001+08:00

Today's hike was hard, simply because of the heat. The three sets of seemingly infinite steps upwards was tough enough on the body, but the 'very hot' weather warning and the incredible humidity made it a struggle at times. Nevertheless, this was the view at the top as the sun set over Hong Kong. Then we waited until darkness fell for a night panorama. Click on the images for a larger version and to order prints.

Yes, I need a taller tripod!

Yuri Arcurs - Short Interview by DW-TV

2011-08-11T22:25:00.001+08:00

Is anybody out there?

2011-08-08T23:32:00.001+08:00

Taken while passing the Sheraton hotel in Tsim Sha Shui. And you can see how it is going down on 500px too.

Tung Po Meat Company

2011-08-06T16:13:00.000+08:00

A quick check-in after today's shoot in Bowrington Market. These two characters happily posed for me as I attempted to execute a tryptich. Unlike many similar tryptich scenes where the shot simply appears to be one image broken into three in post-processing, this image really is three separate photographs taken from different positions in front of the butchers. In fact, I took about 40 shots in total and picked the three that gave me the greatest 'play' between the two of them. There wasn't actually a single moment where I could have got the whole scene in one image because of how busy they both were with all of the customers.

Anime!

2011-08-01T22:13:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was my first real-life experience of Anime, dropping by the Hong Kong convention centre. Unfortunately I didn't have my flash or a softbox with me, but allthesame, it was fun getting some snaps of all of the fantastic costumes. Here are a few of my favourites.

But it's not just about cute girls dressing up, there are also some serious head-to-head elimination computer games to be played. And detailed figurines to be admired.

And what better than to finish the day with a fantastic sunset over the harbour.

MyKeyworder.com goes live

2011-08-01T19:25:00.002+08:00

Developed under Project Codename ShutterChance on-and-off over the last 6 months, MyKeyworder.com is now live. If you have a moment, please check it out and share it with any photographer friends and connections.

Tropical Storm Nock-Ten over Kowloon Waterfront

2011-07-30T22:23:00.000+08:00

Tropical Storm Nock-Ten missed Hong Kong, much to the sadness of those who had their fingers crossed for a direct hit - which gives everyone the day off work! However, for me, it was a fantastic opportunity to capture the broken storm clouds moving through Victoria Harbour over the Kowloon Waterfront.

Sunset over Victoria Harbour

2011-07-24T14:04:00.001+08:00

While the heatwave hits North America, it has reached "very hot" levels (as officially declared by the Hong Kong Observatory) here in Hong Kong as well. Yesterday it was blistering 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit), but that didn't deter us from heading out for a walk up to The Peak to watch the sun set over Victoria Harbour.

The shot above is a composite panorama of 15 images (5x3) taken from the top of the Hong Kong Trail just as the sun was disappearing. Somedays you get nothing as the mist / fumes / fog at the horizon blocks the sun in the final minutes, but last night we were lucky enough to have a warm golden glow cast across the city.

Now on Twitter

2011-07-22T21:14:00.000+08:00

Better late than never. What prompted me to join? Well, a number of things over the last few days, one of which was that I ran a search on Google for something I'd seen online but hadn't saved and found nothing relevant (Approx. 190,000 results). Hmmm. So I tried searching Twitter and found the article I was looking for immediately.

So, now I've joined the party, you can follow my impromptu and sporadic Tweets here.

And if you're not part of Twitter, don't worry. You can see my Tweets in my new Twitter Update Box to the right of this post.

Canon v. Nikon

2011-07-22T13:04:00.000+08:00

...at Chess

More at CanonRumors.

Apparently Canon won!

Thunderstorms over Hong Kong at 16mm

2011-07-21T22:59:00.000+08:00

A quick post to share a few shots as yet another wet season thunderstorm approaches Hong Kong. These were taken with my new Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L. The first image is a single shot. The second image is a composite of 9 images that enabled me combine the long exposure needed to get the light trails of the traffic with the still capture of the clouds about the two IFC buildings.

Kowloon Skyline

IFC, Hong Kong

Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

2011-07-18T20:20:00.000+08:00

This was my second visit to 10,000 Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. (Here is the link to the blog post from my previous visit). This time was different as I got a chance to try out the new 70-200mm f/2.8L II in the low light conditions. It performed fantastically.

Out with the Old. In with the New!

2011-07-16T22:45:00.005+08:00

This weekend was the first time I've traded in lenses for upgrades. Being that I'm now in Asia and everyone and their dog has an SLR, the second-hand market is a strong one. So the Chung Pui camera shop on Stanley Street gladly took my old 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, despite it being in a rather battered condition having been my primary lens for travel photographs bumping its way around 30+ countries over the last 4 years. Well, even though the outside looked worn, it still worked perfectly. I wish its new owner as much joy as it brought me.

But, as I write, I glance over to my side where the upgrade sits all gleaming on the coffee table; the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Out with the old, in with the new. The long-awaited upgrade (and that goes for both the market and me) to Version I of the lens, which was released in 2001, Version II has seen improvements to almost every aspect of the lens, including the optics, autofocus, image stabilization, and the mechanical design.

Image from DPReview

And for that tongue-in-cheek dig at those Nikon shooters out there, a quote from DPReview's conclusion on testing the lens: "its combination of exceptional optics and quirk-free design even manages to surpass Nikon's equivalent that we tested recently, stealing the crown of 'Best in Class' by a whisker." I'm bound to get in trouble for posting that ;)

Olloclip Three-in-One Lens for iPhone 4

2011-07-15T22:44:00.002+08:00

Check out the Olloclip for the iPhone 4. Fish-eye, Macro, Wide-angle. You can read the full review here.

Shooting in old Hong Kong

2011-07-10T23:39:00.000+08:00

I spent Saturday afternoon in the chaos the streets of Mongkok. Here are a couple of images.

ShutterChance v5 released - simplified interface

2011-07-09T13:12:00.001+08:00

ShutterChance v5 went live today, making it faster and easier to generate keywords, find images and use a tag cloud to refine keyword and image results. There are also some significant (but invisible) changes and clean-ups to the code that make everything run a lot faster.

A spiritual weekend in Cambodia

2011-07-08T23:16:00.004+08:00

In the period from around 800AD to 1300AD, the Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia, ruling over large parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith, which is where I chose to spend a few days over another long weekend in Hong Kong. Click here for the full slideshow.

The Roluos Group is a collection of monuments representing the remains of Hariharalaya, the first major capital of the Angkorian-era Khmer Empire. It has become known as the ‘Roluos Group’ due to its proximity to the modern town of Roluos. The ancient capital was named for Hari-Hara, a synthesis of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu. Though there was an existing settlement in the area before the rise of Angkor, Hariharalaya was established as a capital city by Jayavarman II and served as the Khmer capital for over 70 years under four successive kings. Setting the pattern for the next four centuries, the first great Khmer temples (Bakong, Preah Ko, and Lolei, which still has an active pagoda) and baray (reservoir) were constructed at Hariharalaya.

The last king at Hariharalaya, Yasovarman I, built the first major temple at Angkor, Phnom Bakheng, and moved the capital to the Bakheng area in 905 A.D. (a move which is believed to have been sparked by Yasovarman I’s violent confrontation with his brother for the throne and which left the Royal Palace at Roluos in ashes) which would act as the new capital city, Yasodharapura.

An era of territorial, political and commercial expansion followed. Royal courts flourished and constructed several major monuments including Ta Keo, Banteay Srey, Baphuon, and West Baray. Kings of the period exercised their military muscle, including King Rajendravarman who led successful campaigns against the eastern enemy of Champa in the mid 10th century. Just after the turn of the millennium, there was a 9-year period of political upheaval that ended when King Suryavarman I seized firm control in 1010 A.D. In the following decades, he led the Khmer to many important military victories including conquering the Mon Empire to the west (capturing much of the area of modern Thailand), thereby bringing the entire western portion of old Funan under Khmer control. A century later, King Suryavarman II led several successful campaigns against the Khmer’s traditional eastern enemy, Champa, in central and southern Vietnam.

At the heart of Angkor lies Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building, built for the King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist in the late 13th century, which continues to the present day.

In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was ransacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometres to the north. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

After ascending the throne of Cambodia in 1181 A.D., Jayavarman VII embarked on a massive program of construction and public works. Rajavihara ("royal temple"), today known as Ta Prohm ("ancestor Brahma"), was one of the first temples founded pursuant to that program. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, Ta Prohm was founded as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found.

Click here for the full slideshow.

Aerial photograph of East Mebon temple

500px - Temple of Heaven makes Editor's Pick

2011-06-27T09:03:00.000+08:00

A re-edited version of my "Temple of Heaven" photograph from my recent Beijing made 500px's Fresh Digest today, that's always nice.

A weekend in Lamma

2011-06-20T08:50:00.000+08:00

I escaped to Lamma Island this weekend with 20 others from the Hong Kong Photography Club, an island where buildings taller than 3 storeys are prohibited, as are cars. After arriving by ferry and having lunch, we hiked the 4km from Sok Kwu Wan in the East over the ridge to Yung Shue Wan in the North. Despite it being such a short distance, the 33 degree temperature made it exhausting, especially carrying all the camera gear. While many headed back after the dramatic sunset and dinner, a few of us stayed overnight at the Concerto Inn located along Hung Shing Yeh Beach - we'll be going back!

Here are a few of my photos from the day.